Let's Begin! Chapter 1: Why Study Birds?

Earlier this year, I wrote a grant proposal through the Indiana Arts Commission to take the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's online Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology course and document my studies with sketches and paintings to record the visual process of my learning and share (at the end) via exhibition. I'm happy to announce that I did receive the grant, and am currently starting my course online and quickly finished Chapter 1 (it was a short chapter to be fair).

Cornell's Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology Course (Greater Bird of Paradise)

For the next several weeks, be prepared to get a little nerdy with me as I share my drawings, doodles, paintings, and random murmurings on my blog of each chapter of this course. First Chapter: Why Study Birds? That's easy!

Chapter 1: Why Study Birds?

The first chapter was short and sweet. It definitely felt it was trying to get me amped up for the rest of the book, which I assume can become a bit dry for some. However, I think this course is going to me more exciting for someone who is already interested in birds and/ or is a birder, as this information becomes more relevant and easy to digest. I'll do my best to share my enthusiasm with you as I'm learning, and while I hope you enjoy the drawings and paintings that are sure to come, I hope that you discover something new along the way too

Alongside the textbook for the online course came a series of videos and online quizzes that I'll be taking as I progress. No quiz this chapter, but there were some great videos on some really neat birds. My favorite was learning about a South American bird called the Club-winged Manakin. This bird uses its secondary flight feathers to produce a sound similar to how cricket makes a "chirping" noise. I'll definitively be making some more sketches of this bird.

More to come soon. I got a late start on this and with the holidays coming up I have a few commissions to wrap before I can justify moving forward with Chapter 2. I'll make a few more sketches and post them here within the next few weeks and hopefully get a handful of quizzes done before the end of December. More images to follow!

Take the course with me:
https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/product/ornithology-comprehensive-bird-biology/

This project is made possible by support of the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency.